Arizona Daily Star

Meet the meatless bunch
Internet united vegans, who share food tips

By Kevin Smith
Photos by Jeffry Scott
ARIZONA DAILY STAR

Carrot soup, vegan kebabs and dairy-free chocolate chip cookies are part of a meal prepared by Eileen Darts, who is writing a vegan cookbook.

"...Darts, a stay-at-home mother who is writing a vegan cookbook, said she became vegan eight years ago for ethical, health and environmental reasons. She's also the organizer of the online Tucson Vegan Meetup Group, which gathers the first Sunday of every month at noon at a different vegan-friendly restaurant or location.

Darts, 35, moved to Tucson last summer from Vancouver, British Columbia, and found the group on the Internet.

The group is part of Meetup.com, which allows users to set up groups all over the world based on interests. Group topics can range from asexuality to Elvis to poker to mortgage professionals.

Darts said she joined only to find out the Tucson group, though in existence since 2003, had never held a get-together, since it never had an organizer. She stepped up, and the group of almost 45 members has met regularly since last fall.

"We can talk and not have to justify ourselves," said Hannah Soreng, 26. Soreng, a University of Arizona graduate student, has been vegan for nine years and a member of the group for about a month..."


Darts adds sunflower oil to water as she makes vegan biscuits in her central Tucson home. The Canadian transplant got in touch with other Tucson vegans through the Meetup.com Web site.

"...Yoshimi Tashima, owner of Yoshimatsu Healthy Japanese Eatery, said she started the restaurant partly because of her battle with breast cancer in 2001. It "changed everything" and inspired her to eat healthy, she said. With the help of a translator, she said that she wanted to share her passion of healthful eating with others while making a living at it.

Yoshimatsu has a vegetable menu that offers many vegan plates. It just opened Sushi Matsu in the same building, offering alternatives to fish sushi such as a grilled teriyaki zucchini roll and a spinach roll.

In Tucson, it's "too easy" to find vegan food, Haws said, with many supportive restaurants and supermarkets.

Darts said anyone is welcome to join the group at Yoshimatsu; just make reservations on Meetup.com first. Don't worry if you're just curious, she said.

"They don't have to show their vegan ID cards or anything."

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